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THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE HAS APPEARED IN THE RECORD October 30, 2002

Quebec prosecutors stuck to
their guns



Former Justice Minister Paul Begin completely underestimated the resolve of Quebec's 300 prosecutors to seek better working conditions. Unfortunately for the public it required the postponement of thousands of criminal cases before his boss stepped in and agreed to appoint a mediator. Was it really necessary for the public to suffer the added delays? Not if you believe the prosecutors. They say they would never have left their courtrooms had Begin agreed to mediation in the first place.

As for Treasury Board President Joseph Facal, his decision to play hardball only reinforced the prosecutor's determination to stick to their guns. Just three days prior to the premier's announcement, Facal declared at a press conference in his usual slow and articulate manner that there was no question of appointing a mediator. He claimed he didn't want to set a precedent for other public sector bargaining. Premier's Landry's explanation for the government's reversal was mind boggling at best. He declared that he had no choice but to give in because of the prosecutors' special " quasi-judicial functions. Anyone remotely acquainted with our judicial system has known that prosecutors have distinct functions. Since the mid 50s all of our appeal courts including the Supreme Court, have referred, over and over again, to their "quasi-judicial" functions.

Assuming the government had no choice but to appoint a mediator, why were Messieurs Begin and Facal unable to reach the same conclusion? The answer is simple. They gambled that the threat of legal sanctions and lack of a strike fund would force the prosecutors to back down on their demands. Instead, the strike lasted 10 days and short of special legislation, would have continued much longer. To be fair, it wasn't as if the government's strategy never worked in the past. I should know. I participated in a number of short work stoppages throughout my 25 years as a prosecutor; only in those days we were a much smaller group and always seemed to lack the required determination and solidarity. I can still remember losing 11 days of salary in 1988 and, like my 200 colleagues, having to handle all of the postponed cases after returning to work.

However, much has changed over the last 14 years. The government is now facing a much larger, older, wiser, better-organized and more experienced group of prosecutors who are also at the end of their patience. This time they are collectively determined to improve their working conditions and for the right reasons. With the increasing number of high profile biker prosecutions, the media is also paying a lot more attention to their plight. Last but not least, they have a sympathetic ally in the bright Liberal Justice critic, Jacques Dupuis. The fact that Dupuis was also a tough provincial Crown prosecutor before being elected to the National Assembly, practically guarantees his appointment as the next Liberal Minister of Justice.

What exactly are the Quebec prosecutors fighting for? It is not enough that they have no right to collective bargaining and no right to strike; they are still denied access to the binding arbitration process. As for the formal recognition of their association as the sole bargaining unit, it was only after the third day of their strike that the ex-justice minister agreed. Had Begin accepted before the pressure tactics began, the strike would very likely have been avoided.

The salary issue is naturally one of the main sticking points and for very good reasons. The average salary of a Quebec prosecutor is close to 35 percent less than the Canadian average. It doesn't help that the Minister of Justice, like most Quebec ministers, earns more than his provincial counterparts while the principle of parity is denied to the prosecutors.

The starting salary for prosecutors in Quebec is $35,000 compared to $63,113 in Ontario. The maximum salary in Quebec presently stands at $95,000 and is only available to a limited number of prosecutors, no matter what their experience or level of professional skills. In Ontario the maximum is $162,863. Over the years, the relatively low salary scale in Quebec has led to dozens of top prosecutors jumping ship in favor of the better working conditions provided by the feds or opting for private practice.

The lack of prosecutors remains a major stumbling block. With 500 provincial prosecutors in Ontario and only 300 in Quebec it is little wonder why the workload is so much higher in La Belle Province. Consequently, many prosecutors have experienced serious health problems, including permanent physical disabilities that are stress related. Considering the number of cases, 17,000 per year in Montreal alone, there is rarely enough time to adequately prepare the many of the run-of-the-mill cases, much less interview all the witnesses or meet with the police. As a result, plea-bargaining has reached the level where it not only keeps the legal system from collapsing; it now completely undermines the deterrence against committing crimes. Not only is there a serious shortage of prosecutors, computers and researchers, many of their offices lack clerical staff, especially in Montreal where up to 15 prosecutors share the same secretary. Instead of exercising their professional skills, much of their time is absorbed by clerical work such as photocopying, phoning witnesses and writing up hand written reports.

As for the odds of Quebec prosecutors earning salaries equivalent to their Ontario counterparts- they are indeed slim if nonexistent. For one, the mediator's report will not bind the government, which leaves Begin's recent resignation explanation, partially suspect. The prosecutors had agreed to remove this condition before returning to work. They realized that the government was prepared to fight tooth and nail before giving in to binding arbitration.

Furthermore, the prosecutors are well aware that hiking their salary scale to the national average in one fell swoop would have serious economic repercussions on future negotiations with the thousands of other government lawyers, notaries etc.

Nonetheless, the recently approved mediation process amounts to a genuine breakthrough for Quebec prosecutors. Attorney Serge Brault, the designated mediator, is both intelligent and experienced and should have no difficulty whatsoever in identifying the public interest issues at stake. Even if he doesn't succeed in helping the parties resolve their differences the publication of his report should do much more than just persuade the government to substantially increase their salary offers.

As long as the public insists that it be served in a truly professional manner, Me Brault's report is bound to assist the prosecutors in obtaining the necessary resources. In the meantime, the prosecutors would be wise to remain vigilant just in case someone in the government tries to set a few traps in their path.